CBRE: Hotel Investment Fell by 49% in 2019 Due to Lack of Large Deals

8 January 2020 – Expansión

According to CBRE, investment in the hotel real estate sector amounted to €2.5 billion in 2019, down by 49% YoY. In total, 126 hotels changed hands last year, containing 15,000 rooms, together with another 3,200 planned rooms.

Most of the transacted properties were individual assets (72%), with just 28% of the hotels forming part of portfolios, down from 65% in 2018. The main reason for the decrease is a reduction in corporate operations in 2019. Blackstone took the market by storm in 2018 when it made a takeover bid for the Socimi Hispania, which was the largest hotel owner in Spain.

By type of asset, more than half of investors (51%) invested in urban assets in 2019, resulting in a decrease in investment in the vacation sector.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Grupo Comatel Buys a Building in Valencia to Open a New Hotel

19 June 2019 – Valencia Plaza

Grupo Comatel has purchased a new 7-storey building on Avenida Germanías, 3, in the centre of Valencia, where it plans to open an MyR hotel.

In this way, the group led by Fidel Molina is continuing to grow its portfolio in the Mediterranean city, where it has set itself the objective of becoming the main luxury hotel chain.

Comatel’s began its quest in 2017, with the opening of its first establishment, Hotel Plaza Mercado, with 24 rooms and an investment of €12.6 million.

Last year, it opened 5 more hotels with an investment of €56 million, including a luxury aparthotel on Calle Calabazas, with 13 rooms and Marqués House, located in the former Café Madrid building, with 30 rooms and a 5-star rating.

Original story: Valencia Plaza (by Begoña Torres)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Swiss Life Buys a Hotel in Valencia from Grupo Senator for €24.5M

13 June 2019 – Expansión

The Swiss fund Swiss Life has purchased the Hotel Senator Parque Central in Valencia from Grupo Senator for €24.5 million in a sale and leaseback operation.

The 4-star hotel, which has 192 rooms, spans 12,851 m2 and is located in a central area of the Mediterranean city where a large urban park is planned once the nearby railway tracks have been moved underground.

Grupo Senator acquired the property from Sareb in 2017, which itself took ownership after the Valencian property developer that constructed it filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Blackstone’s Spanish Hotel Portfolio is Worth €3.5bn

3 June 2019 – La Vanguardia

In recent years, the US fund Blackstone has invested €3.5 billion in the Spanish hotel sector through its specialist manager HI Partners, making it the largest hotel owner in Spain and the third largest in Europe after the Swedish firm Pandox and the French group Covivio.

HI Partners was created four years ago and owned 17 establishments by the time Blackstone acquired it in 2017 for €640 million. A year later, the US fund launched a successful takeover bid for the Socimi Hispania, which gave it control of another 45 hotels.

According to Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas, Partner and CEO of HI Partners, the firm now owns 62 establishments in Spain, with around 18,000 rooms. By region, 53% of its rooms are located in the Canary Islands, where it has 25 establishments, 26% are in the Balearic Islands (18 hotels) and the remaining 21% are located across the Peninsula above all in the Costa del Sol, Valencia and Cataluña.

HI Partners is headquartered in Barcelona and has offices in the Canary and Balearic Islands. It employs 100 professionals and its hotels are managed by 19 different operators including Marriott, Barceló, Hilton, Melià and Ritz Carlton.

Original story: La Vanguardia (by Rosa Salvador)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Azora Prepares a Fund to Invest €1.3bn in Hotels & Hostels

30 May 2019 – El Confidencial

Azora is currently holding conversations with various investors to launch a new fund through which it hopes to invest between €1.2 billion and €1.3 billion in hotels in Spain as well as in hostels in the main tourist markets across the Mediterranean.

The company founded by Concha Osácar (pictured above) and Fernando Gumuzio expects to launch the vehicle within the next few weeks as soon as agreements have been signed with the first anchor investors.

Azora, which used to manage the Socimi Hispania, until it was sold to Blackstone last year, has been very active in the Spanish hotel market in recent months after it purchased a hotel portfolio in Benidorm and the Costa del Sol in March comprising 1,670 rooms.

The company is also expected to enter the market for nursing homes for the elderly in conjunction with another fund, with the aim of investing up to €300 million over the next few years.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E.S.)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Thomas Cook Buys a 252-Room Hotel in Gran Canaria

16 May 2019 – Hosteltur

Thomas Cook has purchased the Sunwing Arguineguin Hotel in Gran Canaria through its hotel investment vehicle, Thomas Cook Hotel Investments (TCHI). The 4-star establishment, which has 252 rooms, is located around 15km from Maspalomas on the south of the island.

TCHI was created in March 2018 to help Thomas Cook accelerate its aims of managing more of its own brand hotels and investing in opportunities arising in Greece, Spain and the Mediterranean. The fund now owns 9 properties, with plans to grow its portfolio to between 10 and 15 by 2021.

Original story: Hosteltur

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Hard Rock to Open a 504-Room Hotel in Barcelona

15 May 2019 – Expansión

The Hard Rock International group has reached an agreement with the fund manager ASG to open a hotel in San Adriá de Besós on a plot of land acquired by the real estate firm.

The luxury establishment, which will be known as the Hard Rock Hotel Barcelona will have 504 rooms, will open in 2022 and will involve an investment of €200 million. The hotel will span a surface area of more than 30,000 m2 and will have two restaurants, a sports bar, terraces and a rooftop swimming pool and bar.

This is the second agreement that the two companies have signed to develop a hotel project in Spain, after they reached a similar deal last year to open a 4-star establishment in Madrid, in the Atocha neighbourhood.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Azora Buys Hotel Pez Espada & Hotel Riviera in Málaga from Med Playa

9 May 2019 – Diario Sur

The Azora group has purchased the iconic Hotel Pez Espada in Torremolinos and Hotel Riviera in Benalmádena from Med Playa, as part of a larger operation involving seven establishments located in Benidorm and along the Costa del Sol.

In total, the investment group has added 1,670 rooms to its portfolio as a result of the transaction and it expects to invest €30 million in the repositioning of the seven hotels. The chain Med Playa will continue to manage all of the properties for a period of up to 35 years.

Hotel Pez Espada has 235 rooms, a 4-star rating and was refurbished by Playa Med as recently as 2017. It was inaugurated in May 1959 and was one of the first establishments to be built on the Costa del Sol at the start of the tourist boom. Its clientele included Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot, amongst others.

Meanwhile, Hotel Riviera, which is also a 4-star property, is located next to Puerto Marina, serves adults only and has a sauna, spa, restaurants, gym and solarium.

From this operation, it is clear that Azora is committed to investing in tourist destinations with assured success, such as the Costa del Sol and Benidorm. It is currently creating a new fund to invest in holiday hotels along the Mediterranean and in hostels in the main European tourist cities.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Pilar Martínez)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Swedish Firm Quartiers Finalises the Opening of a Luxury Hotel in Marbella

16 April 2019 -Idealista

The Swedish property developer Quartiers Properties is developing a luxury hotel in Marbella. The company, which is listed on the Nasdaq First North stock market in Stockholm, purchased the hotel complex, which is located 200m from the beach, very close to Puerto Banús, in 2017.

Quartiers is going to invest around €8.6 million in the renovation and development of the 5-star hotel, which will be called Boho Club and which will have 50 rooms as well as a restaurant led by the Michelin-starred chef Diego del Río. The restaurant will be inaugurated this summer, whilst the hotel will open its doors at the end of the year.

This is not the only asset that Quartiers Properties owns in Spain. It also has the Hacienda del Señorío de Cifuentes, a complex located in Benahavís (also in Málaga), which comprises 99 rental apartments for vacation and residential use. Nearby it has built another 22 apartments (22 by Quartiers) and next door to that, it owns land for the development of another 60 homes. It is also working on the construction of two luxury villas, both on the Costa del Sol.

Original story: Idealista (by Ana P. Alarcos & P. Martínez-Almeida)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Ybarra y Compañía to Invest €7M in the Construction of a 105-Room Hotel in Sevilla

5 April 2019 – ABC Sevilla

Ybarra y Compañía is going to invest €7 million in the construction of a 4-star hotel in Sevilla, which will have a total surface area of 5,000 m2, comprising 4 storeys and 105 rooms.

The company has already submitted a request for the building permits for the establishment, which is going to be built on the corner of Avenida de la Palmera and Calle Cardenal Bueno Monreal, on the city’s golden mile.

The property developer plans to inaugurate the hotel in the Spring of 2021, ahead of the Easter and Feria celebrations, which attract thousands of tourists to the city each year.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by María Jesús Pereira)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake